Royal Navy Submarine Service | |
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Founded | 1901 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Navy |
Motto(s) | "We Come Unseen" |
Equipment | 6 SSNs & 4 SSBNs |
Website | www |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Commodore Paul Dunn OBE [1] |
Commodore-in-Chief | HRH The Prince of Wales |
Insignia | |
White Ensign (1901 – present) | |
Naval jack | |
Dolphin Badge |
His Majesty's Naval Service of the British Armed Forces |
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Components |
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History and future |
Operations |
Equipment |
Personnel |
Auxiliary services |
The Royal Navy Submarine Service is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the Silent Service, as submarines are generally required to operate undetected. [2]
The service operates six fleet submarines (SSNs), of the Trafalgar and Astute classes (with two further Astute-class boats currently under construction), and four ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), of the Vanguard class. All of these submarines are nuclear powered.
The Royal Navy's senior submariner was for many years located at HMS Dolphin in Hampshire. [3] It moved from Dolphin to the Northwood Headquarters in 1978. [4] The Submarine School is now at HMS Raleigh at Torpoint in Cornwall.
In 1900 the Royal Navy ordered five submarines from Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering of Barrow-in-Furness, designed by Electric Boat Company. The following year the first submarine, Holland 1, was launched, and the navy recruited six officers for the Submarine Service, under Reginald Bacon as Inspecting Captain of Submarines. At the beginning of World War I it consisted of 168 officers, 1,250 ratings, and 62 submarines. [5] During the war it was awarded five of the Royal Navy's 14 Victoria Crosses of the war, the first was to Lieutenant Norman Holbrook, commanding officer of B11, for passing through minefields to sink the Ottoman warship Mesudiye.
Late in the war, the Royal Navy introduced the large K-class submarines. In order to be fast enough to operate alongside the battlefleet, they used steam propulsion while surfaced. En route to a training exercise with the fleet in a disaster, afterwards nicknamed "the battle of May Island", two K-class submarines were sunk, with death of most of their crew, and three more and a light cruiser damaged.
At the start of the war, the Royal Navy had 60 submarines with another nine under construction. By August 1945 a further 178 had been commissioned and 76 had been lost to all causes, the majority of the losses in the Mediterranean. [6] In the Mediterranean (during the Siege of Malta), British U-class submarines began operations against Italy as early as January 1941. Larger submarines began operations in 1940, but after 50% losses per mission, they were withdrawn. U-class submarines operated from the Manoel Island Base known as HMS Talbot. Unfortunately no bomb-proof pens were available as the building project had been scrapped before the war, owing to cost-cutting policies. The new force was named the Tenth Submarine Flotilla and was placed under Flag Officer Submarines, Admiral Max Horton, who appointed Commander George Simpson to command the unit. [7] Administratively, the Tenth Flotilla operated under the First Submarine Flotilla at Alexandria, itself under the admiral commanding in the Mediterranean, Andrew Cunningham. In reality, Cunningham gave Simpson and his unit a free hand. Until U-class vessels could be made available in numbers, British T-class submarines were used. They had successes, but suffered heavy losses when they began operations on 20 September 1940. Owing to the shortage of torpedoes, enemy ships could not be attacked unless the target in question was a warship, tanker or other "significant vessel". [8] [9] The flotilla's performance of the fleet was mixed at first. They sank 37,000 long tons (38,000 t ) of Italian shipping; half by one vessel, the submarine Truant. It accounted for one Italian submarine, nine merchant vessels and one Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB). The loss of nine submarines and their trained crews and commanders was serious. Most of the losses were to mines. [10] On 14 January 1941, U-class submarines arrived, and the submarine offensive began in earnest. [11]
One of the most famous Mediterranean submarines was Upholder, commanded for its entire career by Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm Wanklyn. He received the Victoria Cross for attacking a well-defended convoy on 25 May 1941 and sinking an Italian liner, the Conte Rosso. In her 16-month operational career in the Mediterranean, before she was lost in April 1942, Upholder carried out 24 patrols and sank around 119,000 tons of Axis ships – 3 U-boats, a destroyer, 15 transport ships with possibly a cruiser and another destroyer also sunk. Upholder probably struck a mine on 13 April 1942.
On 8 September 1944, C-in-C Mediterranean ordered that the submarine base at La Maddalena be closed, and that Tenth Flotilla be disestablished and the submarines be incorporated into the First Submarine Flotilla at Malta. [12]
The submarine force was cut back after the end of the war. The first British nuclear-powered submarine Dreadnought was launched in 1960, based around a U.S.-built nuclear reactor. This was complemented by the Valiant class from 1966, which used a new British-built Rolls-Royce PWR1 reactor. The UK's strategic nuclear deterrent was transferred to the Royal Navy from the Royal Air Force at midnight on 30 June 1968, i.e. 1 July. The Resolution class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) were introduced to carry out this role under the Polaris programme from 1968. These carried US-built UGM-27 Polaris A-3 missiles and were later replaced by the Vanguard class submarines and the Trident missile system from 1994.
In 1978 the Flag Officer Submarines double-hatted as NATO Commander Submarine Force Eastern Atlantic (COMSUBEASTLANT) part of Allied Command Atlantic, moved from HMS Dolphin at Gosport to the Northwood Headquarters. [13]
HMS Conqueror made history in 1982 during the Falklands War when she became the first nuclear-powered submarine to sink a surface ship, the General Belgrano. HMS Splendid and HMS Spartan hunted the Argentine Navy carrier group Task Group 79.1 but did not engage.
At the end of the Cold War in 1989 the Flag Officer Submarines, who was also COMSUBEASTLANT, a rear admiral, who , commanded a fleet of 30 submarines, which were grouped into four squadrons (First, Second, Third, and Tenth (SSBN)) at three bases.
In May 1991 Oberon-class submarines Opossum and her sister Otus returned to the submarine base HMS Dolphin in Gosport from patrol in the Persian Gulf flying Jolly Rogers, indicating successful actions. [14]
In 1999 Splendid participated in the Kosovo Conflict and became the first Royal Navy submarine to fire a Tomahawk cruise missile in anger. [15]
During Operation Veritas, the attack on Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces following the September 11 attacks in the United States,Trafalgar was the first Royal Navy submarine to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Afghanistan. [16] Triumph was also involved in the initial strikes. [17] Turbulent launched fourteen Tomahawks during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. [18]
In 2011, HMS Triumph and Turbulent participated in Operation Ellamy. They launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets in Libya, firing the first shots of the operation. [19]
In April 2016, The Sunday Times reported that Royal Navy submarines were to resume under-ice operations in the Arctic. [20] Such operations have not taken place since 2007 after a fatal explosion on board Tireless. The crews of all seven active Royal Navy attack submarines will receive training on how to navigate below and "punch through" ice floes. [20]
As of 2018, there had been three near misses between submerged Royal Navy submarines and civilian vessels due to "an insufficient appreciation of the location of surface ships in the vicinity", according to a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report. [21]
For an extended period of time, the navy has had difficulty in attracting specialist staff into the nuclear submarine force, in part because of the long undersea patrols. In 2008 there were shortfalls of 28% in senior nuclear engineering officers, 23% in sonar and sensor operators, and 20% in nuclear weapons system junior ranks. [22] In 2018, the National Audit Office highlighted the shortage of 337 skilled Royal Navy nuclear staff. [23] In 2023, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sir Ben Key said recruiting for the submarine service was still proving difficult and the service was in a "war for talent". [24]
'Perisher' (as the Submarine Command Course is better known) is a 24-week course all officers must take prior to serving as an executive officer on board a Royal Navy submarine. It has been run twice a year since 1917, usually starting on 2 July and 14 November each year. It is widely regarded as one of the toughest command courses in the world, with a historical failure rate of 25%. [25]
If at any point during the training a candidate is withdrawn from training they will be nominated for boat transfer and kept occupied until the transfer. Their bag is packed for them and they are notified of the failure when the boat arrives. On departure they are presented with a bottle of whisky. A failure on Perisher means that the unsuccessful candidate is not permitted to return to sea as a member of the Submarine Service (although they are still allowed to wear the dolphin badge). They are, however, permitted to remain in the Royal Navy, moving into the surface fleet.
In more recent years, the United States Navy has sent some of its own submariner officers to undergo the 'Perisher', in order to foster and maintain closer links with the Royal Navy.
In 1995 the Royal Netherlands Navy took over the Perisher course for diesel-electric submarines, since the Royal Navy no longer operates boats of that type. The course is attended by candidate submarine commanders from navies around the world. [26]
The Submarine Service has many traditions that are not found in the surface fleet. These include slang unique to submariners (such as referring to the torpedo storage compartment as the Bomb Shop and the diesel engine room as the Donk Shop [27] ), a special communications code known as the Dolphin Code and the entitlement of a sailor to wear Dolphins and black cap covers upon entering the service. These are only awarded after completion of training and qualification in ships' systems during the first submarine posting (Part III training).
Rear-Admiral Arthur Wilson VC, the Controller of the Royal Navy, has gone down in history as the officer who claimed in 1901 "[Submarines are] underhand, unfair, and damned un-English. ... treat all submarines as pirates in wartime ... and hang all crews," [28] In fact he had advocated the purchase of submarines the year before, and he was actually expressing a desire to continue the policy of discouraging foreign powers from building submarines while the Royal Navy developed its own in secret. [29] The legend goes that in response to these top secret remarks of Wilson's made 13 years earlier Lieutenant-Commander (later Admiral Sir) Max Horton first flew the Jolly Roger on return to port after sinking the German cruiser Hela and the destroyer S-116 in 1914 while in command of the E-class submarine E9. [30]
In World War II it became common practice for the submarines of the Royal Navy to fly the Jolly Roger on completion of a successful combat mission where some action had taken place, but as an indicator of bravado and stealth rather than of lawlessness. For example, in 1982 returning from the Falklands conflict Conqueror flew the Jolly Roger depicting one dagger for the SBS deployment to South Georgia and one torpedo for her sinking of the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano . The Jolly Roger is now the emblem of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. [31]
First officially adopted in the 1950s, qualified submariners are presented the Golden Dolphins badge to wear on their uniform on the left breast above any medals. [32] The current badge, adopted in 1972, depicts two golden dolphins facing an anchor surmounted by St Edwards Crown. In September 2020, it was announced that all trainee submariners would be issued their own dolphins badge; similar to the Golden Dolphins in size and shape, though completely black. [32]
The Submarine Service consists of two classes of Fleet submarines and one class of Ballistic Missile submarines.
There are six fleet submarines in commission – one Trafalgar and five Astute. They are all nuclear submarines and are classified as SSNs. [33]
These submarines are armed with the Spearfish torpedo for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare. They have the ability to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles for attacking targets on land. This capability was used by Trafalgar against the Taliban in 2001 during Operation Veritas. The Fleet submarines are also capable of surveillance and reconnaissance missions. [34] Fleet submarines are sometimes referred to as attack or hunter-killer vessels.
Name | Class | Pennant Number | Commissioned |
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Triumph | Trafalgar | S93 | 1991 |
Astute | Astute | S119 | 2010 |
Ambush | Astute | S120 | 2013 |
Artful | Astute | S121 | 2016 |
Audacious | Astute | S122 | 2020 |
Anson | Astute | S123 | 2022 |
The four ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) of the Royal Navy are all of the Vanguard class. They were all built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd., now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions. The SSBN flotilla or bomber 'fleet' tends to be almost a separate entity; for example, it rarely uses pennant numbers preferring to use hull numbers, thus Vanguard 05, Victorious 06, Vigilant 07 and Vengeance 08.
The four Vanguard class boats are responsible for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent, and use the Trident missile system. Each boat can carry up to 16 Trident II D5 Missiles, each of which may carry up to 12 nuclear warheads. As of 2022 it is UK Government policy to refrain from declaring current stockpiles, deployed warheads and deployed missile numbers. [35] There has been at least one SSBN on patrol at all times since April 1969. [36]
Name | Class | Pennant Number | Commissioned |
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Vanguard | Vanguard | S28 | 1993 |
Victorious | Vanguard | S29 | 1995 |
Vigilant | Vanguard | S30 | 1996 |
Vengeance | Vanguard | S31 | 1999 |
The Royal Navy operated the LR5 Submarine Rescue System, designed for retrieving sailors from stranded submarines. Capable of rescuing up to 16 sailors at a time, the system was deployed to the wreck site of the sunken Kursk. The system was replaced in 2004 with the NATO Submarine Rescue System which remains based in the UK.
The Royal Navy, along with France and Norway, is part of the NATO Submarine Rescue System.
This section needs to be updated.(May 2021) |
Twenty-one nuclear submarines awaiting decommissioning have been laid-up at Rosyth and Devonport. [37] In 2014 the MOD announced a plan to decommission 7 of the submarines awaiting disposal, in a project expected to take 12 years. A site for the intermediate-level nuclear waste produced was expected to be identified by 2016. [38] A trial dismantling of a nuclear submarine was planned to start in January 2016 at Rosyth. [39]
In 2018, the UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee criticised the slow rate of decommissioning of these submarines, with the Ministry of Defence admitting that it had put off decommissioning due to the cost. [40] The National Audit Office in 2019 stated that the accumulative costs of laid up storage had reached £500 million, [41] and they represent a liability of £7.5 billion. [37]
in 2019 it has been acknowledged that the UK has more obsolete submarines than they have in service, a problem that has been ignored for over 50 years as the UK do not currently have a clear funding plan for defuelling and dismantling of these submarines. [42] The US have been decommissioning nuclear submarines for many years in a programme that is self funding by recycling many of the components. It's possible that their expertise in decommissioning could be leverage in securing submarine building contracts from the UK.
A total force of seven Astute fleet submarines is planned. As of October 2024, the first six boats have been completed, five of which are in commission and in service. Boat six has commenced its testing and commissioning process and boat seven is at an advanced stage of construction. Boat number seven was confirmed in the October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review and long-lead items have been ordered. [43] The Astute-class submarine is the largest nuclear fleet submarine ever to serve with the Royal Navy, being nearly 30% larger than its predecessors. Its powerplant is the Rolls-Royce PWR2 reactor, developed for the Vanguard-class SSBN. The submarine's armament consists of up to 38 Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk Block IV land-attack cruise missiles.
The replacement class for the Vanguard SSBNs was ordered in 2016 and is named the Dreadnought after its lead boat. [44] [45] The programme will seek to replace one-for-one the current four ballistic missile submarines starting sometime during the early 2030s. [46]
There is also a program for a Maritime Underwater Future Capability (MUFC), that is, a successor to the Astute-class SSN. [47] MUFC was initially known as the 'Astute Replacement Nuclear Submarine (SSN (R))'. [48] However, in 2023 the program expanded to include the joint acquisition, with American support, of nuclear-powered submarines by the United Kingdom and Australia. The successor submarine was then renamed SSN-AUKUS.
The Trafalgar class is a class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines (SSNs) in service with the Royal Navy, and the successor to the Swiftsure class. Like the majority of Royal Navy nuclear submarines, all seven boats were constructed at Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, Cumbria. With only one boat remaining active and in commission and six retired from the seven originally in service, the class makes up part of the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered ‘hunter-killer’ submarine force. The Trafalgar class has nearly been replaced by the larger and more capable Astute class, of which five are commissioned.
The Vanguard class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the Royal Navy. The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and comprises four vessels: Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance, built between 1986 and 1999 at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, now owned by BAE Systems. All four boats are based at HM Naval Base Clyde , 40 km (25 mi) west of Glasgow, Scotland.
HMS Astute is an operational nuclear-powered attack submarine in the Royal Navy, the lead boat of her class.
The Astute class is the latest class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines (SSNs) in service with the Royal Navy. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems Submarines at Barrow-in-Furness. Seven boats will be constructed: the first of class, Astute, was launched by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in 2007, commissioned in 2010, and declared fully operational in May 2014. The Astute class is the replacement for the Trafalgar-class fleet submarines in Royal Navy service.
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capability. They can fire missiles thousands of kilometers from their targets, and acoustic quieting makes them difficult to detect, thus making them a survivable deterrent in the event of a first strike and a key element of the mutual assured destruction policy of nuclear deterrence. The deployment of ballistic missile submarines is dominated by the United States and Russia. In fact, 70% of nuclear warheads in the USA are carried by SSBN submarines.
HMS Triumph is a Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy and was the seventh and final boat of her class. She is the nineteenth nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarine built for the Royal Navy. Triumph is the tenth vessel, and the second submarine, to bear the name. The first HMS Triumph was a 68-gun galleon built in 1561. As of 2022, she is the last boat of her class remaining in service.
HMS Trafalgar is a decommissioned Trafalgar-class submarine of the Royal Navy. Unlike the rest of the Trafalgar-class boats that followed, she was not launched with a pump-jet propulsion system, but with a conventional 7-bladed propeller. Trafalgar was the fifth vessel of the Royal Navy to bear the name, after the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar.
HMS Ambush is an Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Royal Navy, the second boat of her class.
HMS Artful is the third Astute-class nuclear-powered fleet submarine of the British Royal Navy. She is the second submarine of the Royal Navy to bear this name. Artful was ordered from GEC's Marconi Marine on 17 March 1997, and was constructed at Barrow in Furness. She was named on 20 September 2013, was rolled out of the shipyard construction hall on 16 May 2014, and was due to start sea trials in early 2015. Artful made her first successful basin dive in October 2014, and sailed on 13 August 2015 for sea trials. Artful was handed over the Royal Navy on 14 December 2015, and commissioned on 18 March 2016.
The Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor (PWR) series has powered the Royal Navy's nuclear submarines since the Valiant class, commissioned in 1966.
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. In the US classification, nuclear-powered submarines are designated as SSxN, where the SS denotes submarine, x=G means that the submarine is equipped with guided missiles, x=B means that the submarine is equipped with ballistic missiles and the N means that the submarine is nuclear-powered. SSN refers to nuclear-powered attack submarines, which do not carry missiles.
A submarine squadron (SUBRON) is a naval formation or unit in such states such as the United Kingdom, United States, and Russia/Soviet Union. In France the equivalent unit is the escadrille des sous-marins nucléaires d'attaque (ESNA), part of the French submarine forces.
There are three major types of submarines in the United States Navy: ballistic missile submarines, attack submarines, and cruise missile submarines. All submarines currently in the U.S. Navy are nuclear-powered. Ballistic missile submarines have a single strategic mission of carrying nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Attack submarines have several tactical missions, including sinking ships and subs, launching cruise missiles, and gathering intelligence. Cruise missile submarines perform many of the same missions as attack submarines, but with a focus on their ability to carry and launch larger quantities of cruise missiles than typical attack submarines.
His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde, primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy. It is the navy's headquarters in Scotland and is best known as the home of Britain's nuclear weapons, in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.
An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. SSN is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the SS denotes a submarine and the N denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperability throughout NATO under STANAG 1166, though navies use other terms.
HMS Anson is the fifth Astute-class nuclear-powered fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. She is the eighth vessel of the Royal Navy to bear the name, after Admiral George Anson.
HMS Agamemnon is the sixth Astute-class nuclear-powered fleet submarine of the Royal Navy and is currently under construction. She will be the sixth vessel of the Royal Navy to bear the name, after the legendary Greek king Agamemnon.
HMS Agincourt is an Astute-class nuclear-powered fleet submarine under construction for the Royal Navy and the seventh in her class. The boat's name was confirmed in May 2018, having previously held the in-work name of Ajax.
The Jolly Roger is a symbol that has been used by submarines, primarily those of the Royal Navy Submarine Service and its predecessors. The practice came about during World War I: remembering comments by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, who complained that submarines were "underhanded, unfair, and damned un-English" and that personnel should be hanged as pirates, Lieutenant Commander Max Horton began flying the flag after returning from successful patrols. Initially, Horton's submarine HMS E9 flew an additional flag after each successful patrol, but when there was no room for more, the practice was changed to a single large flag, onto which symbols indicating the submarine's achievements were sewn.
Underhand... and damned Un-English... treat all submarines as pirates in wartime ... and hang all crews.cites Marder, A. J., ed. (1961). Fear God and Dread Nought: The correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone (Volume I). Oxford University Press. p. 332.